Council to debate budget amendments

Published: Monday, November 26, 2012 at 10:49 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, November 26, 2012 at 10:49 a.m.

The Lafourche Parish Council will seek Tuesday to amend its proposed budget for the coming year.

The council will meet at 5 p.m. in the Government Complex, 4876 La. 1 in Mathews.

The budget totals just under $55 million, about $3 million more in proposed spending compared to this year. New items include a disaster response account and raises for parish employees.

In all, the council has proposed 21 amendments, mostly council members seeking to appropriate money for projects within their districts.

The council is seeking to add a little more than $2 million in improvements to roads, drainage, recreation facilities and other construction and improvements.

The parish already has $33 million in its proposed capital budget for the coming year. The parish is also borrowing $25 million to be spent in on roadwork in a sales tax district that covers areas north of Larose. It plans to sell bonds and repay the debt using sales tax money.

Councilman Lindel Toups is also seeking to add money into the budget to “get things moving” on a new parish jail.

Toups has been wrangling with Parish President Charlotte Randolph for weeks after the council passed a resolution urging her to hire an architect to design the long-debated jail. It would replace the current jail, which almost everyone agrees is in poor condition.

Toups’ amendment seeks to put $400,000 in a new fund set up for the jail

Though Randolph said the money could be useful in beginning the process, it wouldn’t come close to the amount an architect would charge to design the proposed $20 million facility.

Toups has come close in recent weeks to asking the council to rededicate property taxes to the jail that now help finance the parish’s libraries and Council on Aging services to the elderly. He’s decided not to send the proposal to voters because of ongoing debate on how the rededication would effect the Council on Aging.

Another amendment seeks to scrap budgeted money for a proposed assistant to the parish president.

Councilman Jerry Jones is also set to renew his push for an internal-auditor clerk to monitor parish grant money. Jones has pushed for the new position for weeks now, but has met both opposition from the council and logistical barriers regarding the positions legality.

<p>The Lafourche Parish Council will seek Tuesday to amend its proposed budget for the coming year.</p><p>The council will meet at 5 p.m. in the Government Complex, 4876 La. 1 in Mathews.</p><p>The budget totals just under $55 million, about $3 million more in proposed spending compared to this year. New items include a disaster response account and raises for parish employees.</p><p>In all, the council has proposed 21 amendments, mostly council members seeking to appropriate money for projects within their districts. </p><p>The council is seeking to add a little more than $2 million in improvements to roads, drainage, recreation facilities and other construction and improvements.</p><p>The parish already has $33 million in its proposed capital budget for the coming year. The parish is also borrowing $25 million to be spent in on roadwork in a sales tax district that covers areas north of Larose. It plans to sell bonds and repay the debt using sales tax money.</p><p>Councilman Lindel Toups is also seeking to add money into the budget to “get things moving” on a new parish jail.</p><p>Toups has been wrangling with Parish President Charlotte Randolph for weeks after the council passed a resolution urging her to hire an architect to design the long-debated jail. It would replace the current jail, which almost everyone agrees is in poor condition.</p><p>Toups' amendment seeks to put $400,000 in a new fund set up for the jail</p><p>Though Randolph said the money could be useful in beginning the process, it wouldn't come close to the amount an architect would charge to design the proposed $20 million facility. </p><p>Toups has come close in recent weeks to asking the council to rededicate property taxes to the jail that now help finance the parish's libraries and Council on Aging services to the elderly. He's decided not to send the proposal to voters because of ongoing debate on how the rededication would effect the Council on Aging. </p><p>Another amendment seeks to scrap budgeted money for a proposed assistant to the parish president. </p><p>Councilman Jerry Jones is also set to renew his push for an internal-auditor clerk to monitor parish grant money. Jones has pushed for the new position for weeks now, but has met both opposition from the council and logistical barriers regarding the positions legality.</p>